For my final intervention, I created a lesson plan for kindergarten students because I am studying to become an Early Childhood Educator; and I will be creating a lesson plan in which kindergartners will be able to understand within their academic level. The lesson plan will be on the topic of diversity and how that makes each and one of us unique. Along with the lesson plan I will be reading them a book to them in which the title of the book is called "When God Made You", but before I read to them I will be asking them if they know what diversity means and explain it to them; and then I will read them the book. I feel like it's a great book because it's about how when we were created we were made differently and each of us have different skills, qualities, and are from different parts of the world and that's what makes us unique and special. It's about how different we are and that it's a good thing because if we were all the same then the world will be boring; and that no matter how different we are from one another we should all treat each other equally.
After I finish reading the book to them I'm going to have them do a "This is Me" worksheet which it includes for them to write their name, their age, their eye color, their gender and to draw a picture of themselves. Although, this worksheet is mostly known for the very first day of class but I decided to use it as a mini activity that can go along with what I'm teaching them about. After having them complete the worksheet I will be hanging it up on the wall so that when they see it they can know that everyone is different in their own ways and that everyone is special and unique. I feel like it's going to be a great lesson plan because it's going to be a great way to educate young children that no matter what ethnicity or diversity you are we should all treat each other the same, with respect and not discriminate one another. If you teach them young and from a young age children may be able to learn and know not to engage in those such things. So, the goal for this lesson plan is for children to understand the importance of accepting their own and other people's diversity/ethnicity and not to be judging themselves or others and engaging in bad behaviors.
The issue that has inspired me to do the topic on ethnicity/ diversity for my final intervention is the "Black Lives Matter Movement" and the "Asian American Hate Crime". So, the reason as to why I decided to talk about diversity/ethnicity and chose this topic is because I would like to raise awareness for everyone that has been discriminated due to their ethnicity/diversity; especially during these thought times. During these times there have been many groups of people that has been targeted with hate; so I'm going to be focusing on diversity/ethnicity because I feel like it has become on issue that we need to address. Covid-19 has made it hard for everyone and the fact that we have to deal with this deadly virus many people have to deal with the hate and threats people give them simply because of their culture. People have been targeting them for everything even if they never done anything wrong; sometimes they target a specific group and call them a "threat" simply because they are African Americans.
Although, they aren't the only group being target; there are many more groups being targeted but it's just an example as to why I want to address this issue and bring it to light instead of just hiding it and covering the problem because like that we aren't going to get anywhere with this. It's really upsetting because they have to deal with the abuse almost everyday without knowing the pain that they are causing them. At this point racism towards different types of diversity have taken a big toll ever since the pandemic started; even though this problem has already been an issue but, I feel like it got worse during covid19. So, this is the main reason as to why I have chosen this topic and decided to talk about it to bring it to light and to educate people on the importance on this issue. My message for the audience is to try to help them understand and to educate them that everything they say and do towards someone whose ethnicity or diversity differ from someone else can have a major effect on them and to help them realize how much their actions and words hurt them and others.
Currently, I haven't reached an audience yet, have received any feedback or have audiences engage with this project because I'm not working or know anyone that has younger kids; but I do plan on reaching an audience the day when I get a job or when I become a teacher. I would do this by following the lesson plan that I have created and maybe have them invite their parents to come join us and do a fun activity all together; or maybe also invite another classroom and their teachers and parents to join us. By doing so I would be reaching an audience and they would know more about the topic and how serious this issue is in our society; although I would not be reaching such a big audience but it will just be enough people to possibly spread the message to their friends or family members. If they do so, then more people will get to know more about the situation and know how important it is to bring it to light; because even though it isn't talk much about it's something that should be discussed because it affects millions of people. The day that I will teach this to young children I would hope it will be successful because it will mean so much to me if parents know more about what it is happening all around us and maybe like that they can teach and raise their children to respect others if they are different from them.
We all have similarities and differences but it's the difference that most people pick on but we have to teach children that our differences is was makes us all unique and special and to never engage in a behavior that can hurt someone else. The way that this project fits into my professional aspirations is because it's a lesson plan in which it is use everyday in school settings as an educator to help children understand a certain material. It is teachable and it is common because during certain months we celebrate different types of heritage months such as hispanic heritage month, black history month, woman history month and so on; so it will be a great idea if I teach children about ethnicity/ diversity because it is very common in school and the heritage months are celebrated during school months/ days which will connect very well to the lesson plan that I have created. Lastly, since we are in social isolation and everything is currently virtual and I can't access my project to an audience the way that an audience can have access is that once we are all able to gather together I can volunteer at several schools and teach the lesson to children. It's kind of impossible for audiences to access it because for the majority part school is virtual so the best way could be when we are all able to gather together safely.
The way that this project connects to the class readings is because for the majority of the readings we did in class talked about raising awareness to different types of issues. Some ways that they talked about how they have raised awareness to some of the issues discussed were through graffiti, protests, projects, interviews or talking about it in public and to a large group of people. Even though there were many ways that they have spread awareness but these are just some of the ways that were mentioned in the class readings and how each activist raised awareness towards something they wanted to address. So, my project does connect to the class readings because since I've created a lesson plan and going to be teaching it to young children I'm still going to be raising awareness of the situation I have chosen to address; and just because they are young they could still understand the main idea of it if you teach it at their academic level. By also having another classroom join in and by the end of the lesson the other teacher can get inspired by my lesson plan and they could also prepare a lesson plan of her own to teach it to their children and students; and maybe then they could also invite other classrooms to join and maybe then they will do the same thing and so the pattern will keep repeating; or maybe they will do a lesson plan that deals with something more specific like Asian American or African American and so on because they all fall on the same category. With this we as educator are still raising awareness to a topic that is very serious and very important in today's society and to many other people.
3 Quotes:
Siegler: Signs of Resistance:
1. "Honor King: End Racism!"
I chose this quote from Siegler: Signs of Resistance; and the reason why I chose this quote is because it connects to my project. The way that it connects to my project is because what I am trying to get out there talks about ethnicity/ diversity and it is a big issue in today's world. Many people have been racist towards other people because of their ethnicity, skin color, religion, cultural background etc. and it's something that has been going on for a long period of time. People have gather together to protest and raise awareness to the issue so that we can all finally end racism and be at peace and get along and to finally be treated equally and with respect. So, this quote also inspired me to do a lesson plan to teach young children because since they are still learning we can teach them that being mean to other people because of their different backgrounds or believes is wrong and that racism is never okay no matter what anyone else thinks.
2. "What is more moving? The words on the sign or the small hands holding them with popsicle sticks."
I have also chosen this quote from Siegler: Signs of Resistance; and the reason why i chose this quote is because it connects to my project. The way that connects to my project is that many people protest and go around holding up signs to raise awareness to an issue that they would like to address and wish for it to end but nothing it being changed. It also goes along with my project because although it's a lesson plan for young children and I teach it to them they might know that it's a terrible issue and they might say that they will never engage in those types of behavior but, later on in life they might or might not engage in those behaviors because as time goes on their mentality can change for the worse. So, just because I might be teaching it to children to raise awareness it doesn't mean that racism is going to end; it's still going to continue no matter what you do. Protests and doing everything you can to raise awareness to end racism are rising but the actions of racist people aren't going anywhere and instead of declining they are also rising; and no matter what you do or how hard you try racism is just going to be all around us. So, this quote inspired me to do a lesson plan because even though racism is still going to continue I would still love to raise awareness and spread the message on this topic because no matter how many times it's talked about it's still an important topic to discuss.
The Interventionists, Reclaim the Streets:
3. "We hope in the near future to make connections to pilgrims on similar roads in other parts of the world as well as bring out message to larger audiences on the radio and television via public service announcements."
The reason why I chose this last quote from The Interventionists, Reclaim the Streets; and the reason why I chose this quote is because it connects to my project. The reason why it connects to my project is because one day I do wish for all educator from around the world to do a lesson plan to teach young children or school age children about diversity and the importance of treating everyone with respect and kindness. Although, there may be many educators already doing this as a lesson plan but I would still love for everyone to teach it and especially to children because they are still learning and it can also have a positive outcome in which they may not engage in racism behavior. As I mentioned earlier as time goes by people's mentality changes it can be good or bad but I feel like if we educate every children from a young age there may be a great chance that they may not engage in those bad behaviors and few children who might get involved in those bad behaviors. But teaching them is one thing but parenting is the number one thing; parents should be able to teach their children that racism is never okay and it's a behavior that nobody should engage in. So, this quote inspired me to do a lesson plan because I would love for more educators to educate children on this important topic and even though there may be teachers doing it already but I would love it if we can continue to do it and engage other educators from other parts of the world to do so; by doing this we can share it on a bigger platform once the lesson plan has become successful for both me and other educators.
3 projects:
Title of the projects:
1. 2004 A preliminary guide to Public and Private Space in Amsterdam, 2001- Valerie Tevere
This project is about Valerie Tevere who was talking to people and interviews them as a way to get information about what she wanted to bring out. She created various things after she interviewed several residents in the area; Tevere even made things that could help people get around in the city according to the interviews that she made. So, this project inspired me because I felt like it's a great way to help out the city and the community; not only that but it could also help each other out. This can also be a great way to bring out important information or spread facts about serious issues that you're trying to get out there. It connects to my project because it's something similar that I am doing for my final intervention. Since this is about talking to residents about important issues and finding ways to help and spread awareness by talking about it; then my project goes along the line because I'm also going to be talking about it to young children and possibly their families if they were to join us. So, yes my project involves talking and addressing the issue with people and so did Tevere's project did as well. So her project and my project somewhat has like a connection in which it involves talking about the issue with different types of people; in my case it will be children and maybe their families and for her case it was residents from where she lives. The way that her project inspired my own project is because this is where I got my idea from; since her project involved in spreading awareness by talking to her residents then I thought maybe I could do the same thing but talking to younger children because I would be raising awareness and teaching/ educating them on this important topic and things that they shouldn't do and why they shouldn't do them.
2. God Bless Graffiti Coalition- 2004 On The 8th Day
The second project is about a bunch of graffiti on walls and it's the most common way of interventionists. Graffiti is a major way to spread awareness of an issue that someone is trying to address. Normally, it's painted on walls and on sidewalks with chalk or paint. We see graffiti everywhere and it's all around us; they're normally seen on sidewalks and walls and especially in the cities. So, I found this project to be inspiring because it's a very great way to spread information and trying to address an issue. It's a great way to spread your concern about this situation because usually if there's written or drawings on walls and sidewalks people are most likely to read it. This connects to my project because it somewhat has a similarity on what I am doing for my final intervention. For this project it involves art graffiti where people all over the world can see it because it's in the most obvious views such as sidewalks and walls; but for my project it involves a lesson plan in which a part of it I would make the children draw themselves and have them put their names, their eye colors, their age and their gender simple facts that can demonstrate that everyone is different and unique in their own ways. This can show them that no matter how different you are it's never okay to treat someone bad or disrespect someone because of their ethnicity/diversity. The way that this project inspired my own project is because instead of putting artworks around the city I will be placing them in the classroom in which students, families or even administrators can see and also learn about the issue. Even though it's a simple activity you can still learn from them and capture the biggest idea of the activity. So, this is a great way for other people to learn about diversity/ethnicity; even if it's in a complete different setting but I'm still raising awareness because teachers, administrators, students and parents can see them and will also learn about the importance of this topic/ issue.
3. Anti- Asian Racism- How to Help Stop Violence Against Asian Americans
The last project is about people gathering in large groups and protesting for what they believe is right and standing up for an issue they wish to stop. Protesting is the number one and most common way to spread awareness but, it can also be dangerous. Many people gather on streets and protest everywhere which can lead to chaos of polices trying to arrest protestors or them becoming aggressive towards others. So, I found this project to be inspiring because I feel like it's a great way to stand up for those who can't do it by themselves. Protesting is like a fight for change; they protest because they want to change how society views certain groups such as the people of color, the LGBTQ+, Asians, Muslims, etc. This connects to my idea because as I said earlier that by making a lesson plan I'm still raising awareness and educating people which in this case is young children. Although it doesn't involve protesting but it can gather large numbers of educators to do this lesson plan to teach children what's right and what's wrong and how it affects people that engage in these behaviors; and by doing so they might even talk about it to their families when they asks them what have they learned in school. So, the way the her project inspired my own project is because I want to gather and inspired educators to teach them to their students because it can be a great way for them to learn on diversity/ethnicity and how we should treat others. Even maybe the parents can also get inspired and learn more about it and teach it to other people like their neighbors or friends and like that they can come together to speak on the issue and raise awareness and bring light to this problem.
4 Artists
Artists that I chose from the book
1. Valerie Tevere
2. William Pope L.
Artists that I chose from my own research
3. Yoko Ono
4. Maya Lin.
The way that these artists address the issue is by using different types of things such as paintings, sculptures, media, photographs etc. The medium/ media that they use is that some of them use the media which is any form of social media in which they use it for activism and things like that. In my opinion there are many types of ways to spread awareness to a situation; it's not just protesting, social media etc. there are much more things you can do to help raise awareness and engage audience. The way they gain an audience is by doing what they do like protest, paintings, sculptures etc. because like that people might get interested and join along or even better they might invite other people as well like a friend or neighbors and like that they will have a bigger audience. I feel like activism in art and outside of the art world is doing something that catches attention and spread awareness of an issue or a problem that needs to be discussed about. I also feel like it's about engaging in a type of way that people can protest and advocate for a problem that they want to stop. The artists connect to my project because they use all types of form to spread awareness to an issue they wish was talked more like through a painting, a sculpture the use of social media etc. and I am also doing a project that can also be a way to spread awareness and a way where it can be talked more about and in this case it's through a lesson plan which I can teach children about diversity and how to respect and be kind to each other and not be mean to one another. The way that they inspired my project is because I would love to talk about the issue and spread information about this important topic but with young children and other adults. They have also shown that there are many other ways to spread awareness to an issue we wish to talk about more and so I decided to talk about it with children because it can be great way for them to learn that this problem is real and they can learn to accept themselves and others no matter if our diversity is different from one another.
5 links/ resources:
1. https://www.seattleartmuseum.org
2. https://www.guggenheim.org/exhibitions
3. https://collections.asianart.org/in-the-galleries/
4. http://www.gregorysholette.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Interventionists_03_14_041.pdf
5. Siegler_Capter 10 Black Lies Matter
Images of the book and activity:
This is the book that I chose and read to them
This is the activity that I made them
do after the book I read to them
Images of me teaching:
Telling them about the book that we
were about to read and asking them
if they know what diversity is
Here you have me showing them the
cover of the book and telling them the
name of the book we are going to read;
and asking them what they think the book
was going to be about
Here you have me reading the book
to them and showing them the pictures
After I finished reading the book I gave
them the activity that I mentioned earlier
that they were going to do along with
some colored pencils
After they finished doing the activity I
went around and asked each of them to
tell me what they did/ drew
Right after I finished going around to tell me what
they did/drew I took them and I hung them on the wall
like I have mentioned earlier
Lastly, this is the end result with the kids looking
at the books and their activities hung up on the wall
